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Cercal System

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Definition

The cercal system is a mechanosensory system in orthopteran insects, which mediates the detection, localization, and identification of air currents surrounding the animals. The receptor organ for this modality is a pair of antenna-like appendages called cerci at the rear of the abdomen, covered with mechanosensory hairs like the bristles on a bottlebrush (Fig. 1). Air currents in the animal’s immediate environment move these hairs and, thereby, activate the receptor neurons at the base of the hairs. The cercal system is implemented around an internal representation of stimulus direction and dynamics that demonstrates the essential features of neural maps found in more complex systems, including mammalian visual and auditory systems. Over the last several decades, this system of the cricket has been used as a simple “model system” for investigations of development, mechanoreceptor biomechanics, neural maps, and neural coding (Jacobs et al. 2008).

Cercal System, Fig. 1
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

    Hiroto Ogawa

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA

    John P. Miller

Authors
  1. Hiroto Ogawa
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  2. John P. Miller
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Correspondence to Hiroto Ogawa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Ranu Jung

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Fabrizio Gabbiani

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Ogawa, H., Miller, J.P. (2022). Cercal System. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1006-0_322

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